JAN ZWARTENDIJK OF THE NETHERLANDS, A HERO OF THE HOLOCAUST
. Zwartendijk's
appointment coincided with the Soviet takeover of
Lithuania. Initially, a few Dutch Jewish residents of
Lithuania seeking to escape Soviet rule approached
Zwartendijk for visas to enter Dutch colonies in the East
or West Indies. Acting on de Decker's authorization,
Zwartendijk agreed to help them. As word spread, many
Polish Jewish refugees who had fled occupied Poland in
1939 also sought escape with the help of Zwartendijk's
visas. In a conscious
deceit, Zwartendijk signed his name to a declaration that
looked like a destination visa for Curaçao and
other Dutch possessions in the West Indies. Using words
originally provided by de Decker, it stated that a visa
was not required to enter these colonies. In reality,
however, obtaining entry was up to the discretion of the
colonial governor, who rarely granted it. Although no
refugee entered Curaçao with the Zwartendijk visa,
it provided the first step in leaving Lithuania via an
eastern, Trans-Siberian route to Japan. As the Soviets
closed all consulates in Lithuania, the refugees expected
they could make other travel arrangements in Moscow or
Tokyo, where consulates were still
operational. With
"Curaçao visas" in hand, refugees approached
Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese consul in Lithuania, for
visas to transit through Japan on the way across the
Pacific to Curaçao. Because Japan still maintained
relations with the Dutch government-in-exile, Sugihara
recognized Zwartendijk's visa and began issuing the
required transit visas. Between July 26 and
August 2, 1940, Zwartendijk issued over 2,400
"Curaçao visas." His operation was shut down after
the Soviets seized his Philips office in early August as
part of their nationalization of the Lithuanian economy.
In fall 1940 Zwartendijk returned to German-occupied
Netherlands and worked for Philips at its headquarters in
Eindhoven. Many of the
individuals Zwartendijk helped never knew his real name
and only referred to him as "Mr. Philips Radio." In 1997,
Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust Memorial, named
Zwartendijk one of the "Righteous Among the Nations" for
the help he gave Jews in Lithuania. Zwartendijk died in
1979 at the age of 80. He is survived by his three
children. Source:
ushmm.org/museum/press/kits/flightandrescue/zwart2.htm .
Jan
Zwartendijk was director of the Lithuanian operations of
Philips, a Dutch manufacturer of light bulbs and radios,
when he took on the part-time duties of acting consul for
The Netherlands in June 1940. He was appointed by
the Dutch ambassador posted in Riga, Latvia, L.P.J. de
Decker.
May His Blessed Memory Live
Forever